I am a teeny bit embarrassed to admit, I’ve not read Vonnegut. Although certainly aware of his work. I’ve never had the inclination to pick his titles. Perhaps until now. On the Banned Books Week’s site, they linked to a letter Vonnegut wrote in 1973 to the head of a school board who had burned … Read more
For some odd reason I’m posing questions lately. This one popped into my head as I ran my finger down a to be read pile, to chose something, because my Peter Robinson crime novel has disappeared. And right there, is an answer. I like Mr. Robinson a great deal, as a person, and certainly as … Read more
I was searching for info about an Alice in Wonderland in french, illustrated by an artist Morin, when another link popped up about a novel called Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin published in 2010. I was surprised not to have known of it, and very excited to find it–I’d read slews of things about … Read more
J. A. Konrath, whom I’ve heard of, only through facebook constantly recommending I friend him because so many of my friends are his friends, responded to an interview with a person from a publishing company–that interview I didn’t see, and don’t really need to–he shot down any and every argument the person offered for the … Read more
Once again, I tripped over an episode of mock conservative Stephen Cobert’s show, and low and behold, he’s interviewing the famous children’s writer and illustrator–Maurice Sendak. If you’ve not seen Colbert–think of a fake sincere smart aleck whose comebacks are fast and furious, and usually hilarious. I find it hard to believe in this day … Read more
Whoa! There are far more awards for writers of crime fiction than I realized. I thought I knew them all, even a rather low key one called the Hammett Prize. Uh, no. Apparently not. Some mystery writers awards are within a more general literary group, just one section. I was unaware of these and perhaps, … Read more
I have a bunch of articles on the burner, but when I heard of Hitchens’ death, and read some obits, I thought I’d comment. I’ve not read any of his books. I’ve seen him on various talking head shows, including The Daily Show, and I generally knew what he was about. It wasn’t until reading … Read more
From time to time I reflect on the number of famous, not so famous, and fantastic writers I’ve been privileged to meet over the years. Some I met when they promoted their first book, and have either dropped from publishing sight, or become bestsellers, or the between–the midlist author who continues to be published and … Read more
